15 Oct Top 3 Reasons Why Americans Want to Own
THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015
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The top reasons Americans say they want to own a home: The opportunity to build equity, the desire for a stable and safe environment, and the freedom to choose their neighborhood. That’s according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2015 National Housing Pulse Survey, a poll of 1,000 adults nationwide in the 50 largest metro areas.
More than eight in 10 Americans say that purchasing a home is a good financial decision, and 68 percent say now is a good time to buy a home, according to the survey. What’s more, 71 percent of those surveyed also believe they could sell their house for what they paid for it –up 16 percentage points from 2013.
“Home ownership is part of the American Dream, and this survey proves that dream is alive and thriving in our communities,” says NAR President Chris Polychron.
But some obstacles remain. Seventy-eight percent of respondents say college debt and student loans are the main barriers to them in making a home purchase affordable. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed say they have a full-time job but still do not make enough money to purchase a home, and 74 percent say they do not have enough money for a down payment and closing costs. A growing number of respondents are also concerned about climbing housing costs: 41 percent call the lack of affordable homes a “very big” or “fairly big” problem in their area – an increase of 9 percent points from 2013.
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